People moving from affordable segment wherever there is a possibility

The Indian real estate sector witnessed a decline in affordable housing launches and overall sales in the September quarter of 2024. NIRANJAN HIRANANDANI, managing director, Hiranandani Group, in an interview in Mumbai with Prachi Pisal, spoke about the sector's prospects and the group's plans to launch a real estate investment trust (Reit) to raise funds. Edited excerpts:

- NIRANJAN HIRANANDANI

Launches in the affordable segment have declined in the last few years, and at the same time, a recent survey stated that about half the buyers aren't happy with the current affordable housing options. What is your view on it?

With the GDP growing at a compound growth rate of about 7 per cent per annum, the highest in the world, aspirations of the Indians have gone up. People are moving from the affordable segment wherever there is a possibility.

In the last one and a half years, home loan interest rates went up from 6.5 per cent to about 8.7 per cent, causing an increase of about 20 per cent in EMIs. The affordable housing segment also has faced setbacks post-Covid due to the exhaustion of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) Part 1 and the unavailability of the credit-linked subsidy scheme. We were hoping that with the US bringing down interest rates by 50 basis points, India would also follow a similar path as it would have helped the affordable housing sector.